After the Big Day: How to Sell Your Wedding Dress Part 2

   Hello brides and wives! Last entry I talked about consignment in a brick and mortar store, this entry will address online consignment and online bridal gown sites that list your gown for you. I have personally used a few different sites to feel them out. I have used http://www.recycledbride.com/, http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/, and http://www.oncewed.com/.
   First off, although there are some sites that are legitimate and honest, be wary of any that ask you to send the dress to them. If you are not in the immediate area, you may not ever see your dress again or get paid for it and as I covered in the Buying Online piece, you never know if those "reviews" are from real customers or fake ID's.
   The biggest draw back to online consignment is that it can take a long time for your dress to sell. As far as I can tell from trying the three listed websites above for 6 months each (and selling none of the gowns I listed despite the listing prices being between $100-$450), more brides selling their gown are visiting than soon-to-be brides are buying.
   You have a much better chance of selling designer gowns that are current or recently discontinued, than a 2 year old David's Bridal dress. Think of it this way, if a bride-to-be sees the gown she wants on Say Yes to the Dress, but it is $3200 and beyond her budget, she is going to hit the internet. Whereas a bride-to-be that is searching for a David's dress online is looking for a deal and will probably look to Ebay first since new and current gowns that sell in the store for $500, go on Ebay for as little as $75.
   On the upside, you can reach more areas with an online site than a brick and mortar consignment shop. Again, you still have to be realistic with your pricing:

• If your dress is 3 years or older, used (and needs cleaning), and is a brand name (Alfred Angelo for example,) but not a designer name (like Vera Wang) don't expect much. You will honestly be lucky to get $100 out of it. Brides are already taking a major chance buying online, they don't want to add to that by having to pay the costs of having it cleaned only to find out the stains won't come out.
• Don't expect more than $100 for Chinese replica knock-offs - whether they are used or not. In fact, if it is used and needs to be cleaned, you will be lucky to sell it at all.
• If your dress is current or up to 2 years old and needs to be cleaned expect to get up to 1/4 of the original price.
• If your dress is current or up to 2 years old and is used but completely clean, you could ask up to 1/3 of the original price and expect to get it.
• If your dress is current or up to 2 years old and is new, you can probably get 1/2 of the original price.

There are exceptions:

• If your dress is new and plus sized, you are far more likely to ask and get about 75% of what you paid for it - as long as it is a brand name. 
• If the dress is used and plus sized, but clean, you are likely to get 1/2 of the original price.
• If your dress is a designer label and it is used, you can easily get 30-40% of the original price.
• If your dress is a designer label and unworn, you can ask up to 75% of the original price as long as it is a recent design.
• Maggie Sottero is a hot name right now, whether new or used, you can price it like a designer label rules.

Keep in mind that vintage does not necessarily translate to cash. Sell vintage and dresses from the last 3 decades on Ebay. Trendy, budget savvy brides are searching these online "consignment" sites, not collectors. Good luck ladies!

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